Dr. Mehmet Oz, left, and Dr. Michael Roizen
Every week, readers of the IJN’s print edition gain access to expertise of Dr. Michael Roizen and Dr. Mehmet Oz who answer medical questions from across the medical gamut. Some of the topics they’ve addressed in just the past few weeks include fetal alcohol syndrome, tinnitus and non-HDL cholesterol.
Their combined medical expertise is one of our print exclusives, but one of their answers this week included a set of guidelines for heart health that blog readers might find useful.
What’s incredible about ‘Life’s Simple 7 Guidelines’ is that they seem so obvious — yet, how many of us follow them? According to Oz and Roizen, the Journal of the American Heart Association estimates a savings of $200 billion a year if all Medicare patients achieved these seven steps. The docs also write that following these guidelines can help fight lifestyle-triggered cancers; reduce weight-related digestive, mental and joint problems; beat diabetes; and stay happy. These guidelines can also serve to remind us that our health and well being is largely in our hands.
So tell us, are you already following these guidelines? If not, which will be the most challenging to take on?
- Stop smoking (go to http://cle.clinic/2l3GPUF for help)
- Get daily physical activity (10,000 steps daily or equivalent)
- Upgrade your nutrition (ditch the Five Food Felons**; eat 5-9 servings of produce daily)
- Maintain a body mass index below 30 (Google “calculate your body mass index”)
- Control your blood pressure (aim for less than 120 over 85; exercise; lose weight if you have to; talk to your doc about medication)
- Control your cholesterol (upgrade your nutrition and exercise routines, and talk to your doc about a statin)
- Control your glucose level (aim for less than 100; exercise and nutrition upgrades make a huge difference here, too)
**Oz & Roizen’s Five Food Felons: trans fats; saturated fats; added sugar; syrups; any grain but 100% whole grain
